Le T. Phung credits the USS Sterett with saving her life. The ship rescued her after a week adrift in the South China Sea when she fled Vietnam nearly 25 years ago. Phung was the matron of honor for the christening of the latest Navy warship to bear the Sterett name. It is the fourth warship named after Lt. Andrew Sterett.

NASA on Thursday awarded a multibillion dollar contract to build a manned lunar spaceship to Lockheed Martin Corp., which usually builds rockets without people. The Orion crew exploration vehicle is supposed to replace the space shuttle fleet, take astronauts to the moon and perhaps on to Mars.

Jim Snoddy and other NASA engineers didn't just go to the drawing board or a warehouse when they needed ideas and parts for America's next lunar rocket. They went to space museums. NASA is both cannibalizing and analyzing pieces of its glory years, namely the Apollo program that first put humans on the lunar surface in 1969.

After years of job losses, budget cuts and uncertainty, NASA Glenn Research Center is taking a leading role in developing the new space vehicle officials hope will carry people back to the moon and lead the way to Mars. The center will transform its focus to the crew exploration vehicle.

On the Seas column: You've heard it beforeget your tickets now because space is limited. This overused expression is often a ploy to get you to book an overpriced trip. However, in the case of Bermuda, cruise ship berths are limited, and if you don't book now, you may be disappointed.

Old pro golfers tend to like old courses, so the PGA Tour offered an ancient venue for one of its Champions Tour majors Tuesday with the announcement that the Senior Players Championship will be played at Baltimore Country Club beginning in 2007.